Anyone struggle with the amount of “waste” water created?

[slicksta]

And what is your time and pleasure enjoying the tank more worth to you?

[slicksta]

If water is costly or rationed in your area, a drip system is not the way to go unless you have money to pay for it. Hear is an old post for a 150 gal tank using drip system. See post #8. This is raw water from the tap. RO water and lot more water will be wasted.https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ge-system.html

Mervin
Take a close look at the #s
If he is correct a 2gph drip is equivalent to a 24% daily wc and using 32% tank volume of water. So your talking the difference of 48g - 36g = 12g additional water each day. Not quite 1/2 the new water down the drain.
He also states that the benefits are second to none and I'm assuming he's talking about water stability.
Add to that.. That I've gone on multiple vacations for as long as 5 weeks without worry.
My weekly maintenance takes me less than an hour
And I never feel guilty for being tired and going to bed without doing a wc.
Come to the dark side... You'll enjoy watching your python crumble from dry rot :-D

[bluelagoon]

Mervin
Take a close look at the #s
If he is correct a 2gph drip is equivalent to a 24% daily wc and using 32% tank volume of water. So your talking the difference of 48g - 36g = 12g additional water each day. Not quite 1/2 the new water down the drain.
He also states that the benefits are second to none and I'm assuming he's talking about water stability.
Add to that.. That I've gone on multiple vacations for as long as 5 weeks without worry.
My weekly maintenance takes me less than an hour
And I never feel guilty for being tired and going to bed without doing a wc.
Come to the dark side... You'll enjoy watching your python crumble from dry rot :-D

Great if you like to go that route. No one said it doesn't have benefits. OP was trying to save water.

[Frankr409]

Drip system calculator.

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/...aterChange.php

[slicksta]

Great if you like to go that route. No one said it doesn't have benefits. OP was trying to save water.

The original post says that the waste water will be used in the garden. If you need to water your garden anyway... Is it really wasted? At least in the summer I think not.
In the end, most hobbies have a cost. One approach can be to have a nice pair in a large tank. I have 2 discus in a 120g and they're happy and livin' large with a minimal bioload.

[snxtif]

Build a reservoir, reuse the water for flushing toilet, watering your lawn or even washing your clothes
(half jokingly of course, but in the case, you can always be with your beloved discuss, or at least its "output", anywhere anytime.)

Interesting stat tho, a standard bath tub is more or less the same size as a 5' tank.
So, if you cut your bath in half, you can WC your 5' discus tank!!! woohoooo!

[cooper666]

The continual drip thing is very wasteful and I reckon 50% reduction in efficiency compared to dump and refill is pretty well on the money. For me, water is cheap but heating it is not. At least my heating efficiency is not reduced by 50%, that would get expensive.

On the bright side, the continual drip system should be kinder to the fish in that parameters will remain very stable.

I'm trying to work out how much I have to exchange, I think I'm just going to manage it via nitrate tests and increase/decrease the flow as necessary to keep them below what 10ppm? does that sound right.

[slicksta]

The continual drip thing is very wasteful and I reckon 50% reduction in efficiency compared to dump and refill is pretty well on the money. For me, water is cheap but heating it is not. At least my heating efficiency is not reduced by 50%, that would get expensive.

On the bright side, the continual drip system should be kinder to the fish in that parameters will remain very stable.

I'm trying to work out how much I have to exchange, I think I'm just going to manage it via nitrate tests and increase/decrease the flow as necessary to keep them below what 10ppm? does that sound right.

According to the calculations provided its more like 25% waste.
And yes, nitrate testing is how all water change regime should be determined.

[Second Hand Pat]

Guys, water is one of the most renewal resources we have on the planet so when I did a water change I do not consider it wasted. The water from the tank goes into the yard and back into the Florida aquifer where the ground filters the water on the way down. Now I am on a well so only pay for the power to pump the water.
Pat

[slicksta]

Drip system calculator.

https://www.hamzasreef.com/Contents/...aterChange.php

According to this calculator dripping 50 gal/day into a 150g tank results in a 15% of wasted water.
42.5g of effective water change out of 50g used
My experience shows this to be more in line with my results.

IMG_20190816_071433_763.jpg

[cooper666]

Yes but the efficiency diminishes as the flow rate increases. At the extreme - 100% exchange per day, the calculator states efficiency at approx 63% (if I'm using it right)

[cooper666]

You are lucky to live where you do, as am I at the moment. Where I use to live, we had 1ft of rain 30cm in a good year. Water there was not easily renewable, not on a local scale anyway.

[slicksta]

Yes but the efficiency diminishes as the flow rate increases. At the extreme - 100% exchange per day, the calculator states efficiency at approx 63% (if I'm using it right)

If it is an accurate calc... Then yes that is true.
Easy fix is to find the sweet spot of efficiency for your setup. Or if you think you need even more efficiency, supplement with traditional water changes.
Like I stated previously... I've done both and if I have to return to traditional wc's... I'd dump discus all together. This is by far easier and I find that I enjoy the hobby much, much more.
I'm a bit of a geek so even the set up of controllers, floats, water sensors and solenoid valves was enjoyable. 1000 times more enjoyable than buckets and siphons.

And yes we are both lucky to live in areas with a plentiful supply of good quality water. This approach will not work well for all.

[cooper666]

I agree completely, No way in hell am I siphoning thousands of litres of water every week. I'll happily pay a bit extra to skip that.

[bluelagoon]

I would love to have a steady flow of fresh water to my tanks. I live in an apartment and have no way of pumping for this through the walls. I hate the look of hoses or anything like that and if they can't be hinden out of sight, it makes the set up look ugly.